Following our sneaker masks at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have now created a remarkable sequel: a custom-made mask for none other than Quincy Brown.
The 30-year-old American singer, actor and model approached the studio after noticing our sneaker masks online and commissioned us to create a personalised mask. The foundation for the mask? Quincy’s very own sneakers.
In the Spring of 2020, during Belgium’s first lockdown,
the world came to a sudden pause. WeWantMore’s creative director Ruud Belmans used that unexpected break to trigger his mind
in another way. He pulled several of his old sneakers apart and reconstructed them as face masks. A creative statement to point out the vital role of designers and adopting a designer’s mindset in a post- corona society: to take things apart, reinvent them and make them relevant again within the new normal.
The internet took kindly to Belmans’ sneaker masks and message, with international news sites and fashion and design blogs picking up the work. So much so, they managed to pop up on Quincy Brown’s radar. The singer, actor, model (@quincy), reached out to WeWantMore and asked them if they were up for a collaboration. A request the Belgian design studio happily said yes to, upon which Quincy sent his pair of Nike Air Flight Huarache and Air Jordan 12 Retro “University Gold” to Antwerp.
“After seeing the sneaker mask art pieces we made last year, Quincy asked us to create a custom-made one for him. He was immediately fan of our work and gave us absolute creative freedom. It’s a great way to create something really unique and extremely personalized, while giving those sneakers a second life.”
WeWantMore’s first set of sneaker masks were meant as an artistic statement. Rather than being actual face masks, they were art objects. But for Quincy’s mask, the Belgian studio wanted to work towards a fully functioning mask. A valid alternative to a clinical face mask. To go from concept to finished mask, WeWantMore collaborated with the Belgian artist Alain Mukendi. The Belgian footwear designer who previously collaborated with Adidas and Supra, created a new mask design following Belmans’ concept, equipped it with the necessary filtering material on the inside and manufactured it into a final product.
“When WeWantMore reached out to me to collaborate on a sneaker mask, I was immediately taken by the project. Their artistic vision was clear. I could really relate to it. The current global health context everyone was facing, was just one more extra reason for me to develop a quirky and original object that would be useful in our daily lives and that would become indispensable to protect us. It’s not just a mask. It has a message and a vision.”
